Boost Your Memory with Magnesium

As many as half of all Americans do not consume the recommended daily amount of magnesium (400 mg). This deficit poses a major health risk, as magnesium helps build strong bones, make proteins, release energy that is stored in muscles and regulate body temperature. In addition, researchers found that helping maintain memory function in middle age and beyond may be another of magnesium's roles.

Magnesium, a trace mineral, can be found in dark green, leafy vegetables. Researchers have found that not getting the optimal daily intake of magnesium can be associated with:

Allergies Asthma Attention deficit disorder (ADD) Anxiety Heart disease Muscle cramps According to studies, magnesium is also important in synaptic function, which is associated with the connections among brain cells. Researchers discovered that sustaining a proper amount of magnesium in the cerebrospinal fluid is crucial for maintaining plasticity of synapses; plasticity (the ability to change) is vital to the brain's ability to learn and remember. Therefore, a loss of plasticity in the hippocampus, where short-term memories are stored, results in the forgetfulness that is common in older people.

Further, magnesium is the porter for the NMDA receptor, which receives signals from an important excitatory neurotransmitter involved in synaptic plasticity. Magnesium helps the NMDA receptor open up for important input and shut down to background noise.

Thus, it was concluded that a healthy amount of magnesium might improve cognitive function.

Medical News Today December 1, 2004

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

As the article stated, magnesium is crucial to brain functioning, as it regulates a key receptor important for learning and memory. Unfortunately, most Americans are not meeting their magnesium quota.

For those of you who fall under this category: The best way to consume this mineral is through organically bound magnesium, which is found in organic green, leafy vegetables. If you are not in the habit of eating vegetables or simply don't like the taste of them, I highly recommend trying some new varieties and getting creative with ways to add them to your diet.

However, if you STILL feel that you may fall short of meeting the recommended daily goal of magnesium, there a number of alternatives to help strengthen your memory and learning.

You see, memory impairment is a major challenge for many of my patients, especially after the age of 40. It seems to be a universal problem for all of those who are not following an optimized eating program and following through with a regular exercise program.

That is why it is important to eat a proper diet as free of sugar as possible, as studies have proven that sugar is one of the main culprits linked to memory loss. Thus, eliminating toxic sugars from your diet is a prime avenue to strengthen your memory.

You will also want to consider a high quality source of omega-3 fish fat such as cod liver or fish oil.

One of my newer recommendations is to consider the use of pregnenolone at 100 mg for four months and then decrease to 50 mg daily. Pregnenolone seems to be the most effective bioidentical hormone for memory improvement.

In addition, blueberries are a particularly powerful brain-boosting food. You can likely find organic blueberries in your local health food store, and I have also found (and routinely consume) the delicious and highly convenient Wild Blueberry IQ Softgel Capsules that are made from whole fresh blueberries -- and contain 40mg of potent disease-fighting anthocyanins per capsule! You can find out more about these Blueberry Softgels and order them through our Recommended Products section.

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Ive always felt ZMA to be a great attribute just for the sake of the Mg and Zinc that most men fall short on. Regardless of who says its boost test and what not, i have always slept better and been in a better mood while using ZMA consistently and its dirt cheap now ( remember when it was 30 bucks bottle?? lol) And Blueberies are absolutely a mainstay. Use them to flavor shakes or just munch on instead of candy or crackers. I also add in blackberries for the contrast. Its hard to go out and buy fresh and espcialy organic fruits but they do in the long run make for a healthier lifestyle, especially if centrum is your foundation of health